A Double Edged Knife
by Scrap Metal Skeleton
Summary: Having pride and just being plain stubborn are two totally different things.


To say the limp was noticeable was an understatement. Every once in a while, when shifting his weight, his knee would bend further than usual, and he would nearly topple forward, only to catch himself and continue, giving one awkward stride. He'd then straighten his back and take in a breath and walk a few small steps, only for his knee to yet again give out. Every time he nearly fell, he let out a strange sound, almost like a gasp, but instead it was a short and quick exhale, like he was straining for no one to notice his pain.

_The battle was not a truly gruesome or long one, not by any means. In fact, the pair had managed to defeat their foes in a few minutes and without really breaking a sweat. But that didn't stop the boss from pulling a cheap shot. The cowardly man had managed to hide himself and get the jump on them, jamming a long, serrated blade into the lower part of the boys thigh. The attack was successful, but earned him a hard punch across the face which sent him crashing into the wall of the building. _

_He got to his injured captain in milliseconds. The blade was about four inches long and stuck out at an angle right above his knee. He touched the handle gently. Instantly the boy's leg jolted and he threw his head back in pain. He removed his hand from the blade, not daring to touch it again. The serrated edge of the blade had hooked itself around his femur, lightly shaving away part of the think bone and making it impossible to remove without sawing the bone in half or shifting the handle, which would risk slicing open his femoral artery. But of course that didn't stop the stubborn idiot from trying._

_Without warning his hand flew up to the handle and he yanked the knife out in one swift movement. There was a heavy cracking sound and then a delayed howl of pain. Totally taken back by his sudden action, the swordsman for a moment only stared wide eyed before shooting his gaze to his face and cursing him. The cursing, however, did not last very long. Now that the obstruction was removed, the blood now gushed from his wound. He really wished he hadn't fallen asleep when Chopper taught them all first aid. _

_He grabbed the boy's leg, just above the wound. Maybe he could just stop the bleeding. That, he guessed, was the first step. He heard Luffy yell as his hands jostled his wound. He removed one hand and ripped his sleeve. He then wrapped the cloth around his middle thigh, overlapped the two ends, and then tied a long piece of wood with the remaining cloth. He twisted the wood until the blood flow lessened and then bound the actual wound with another piece of his ripped shirt, simultaneously tying the piece of wood in place. A makeshift tourniquet. Ugly and utterly temporary but suitable until they got to Chopper._

_He looked to Luffy, who had his head turned downward now, his hands in white-knuckled fists. He bent his legs in a move to stand. Zoro stopped him. _

_"__I'm no doctor, but that's probably not a good idea, captain," insinuating that he should be carried._

_"__But I don't wanna be carried!" he whined in reply._

_"__Lu-"_

_"__Nope! Captain's orders! I'm gonna walk myself."_

_He opened his mouth for a moment but closed it again when Luffy again bent his legs and this time slowly stood up, although not without a grimace. It's not like he'd never walked with bad injuries when he shouldn't. Zoro could honestly count up the numbers of time he had ran about with a serious injury. This case was different though. Zoro was with him to offer help and the boy had no reason to have to walk._

_"__I can walk," he said ending the conversation and limping toward the exit. _

_Zoro sighed and glanced at the blood left behind on the floor. He shook his head at the shear bull-headedness of his captain, and the followed. _

He walked at an uneven pace, that Zoro had noticed to constantly become slower and slower on average. They'd only walked about a mile now, but the boy was already panting heavily. Sweat rolled down his face, but the sun was hidden behind a thick layer of dark clouds. And they still had miles to go. He eyed him carefully; each time the boy swayed, his heart jumped, ready to catch him before he hit the ground, but he didn't fall or ask for help. He was too stubborn.

Thunder suddenly cracked above them. Lightening followed in suit, casting the world in bright blue and then pitch black in a second. Luffy jumped, caught off guard. Unfortunately, he was about to step on his bad leg and another crack was heard before he fell into a mess of Zoro's limbs and his own. His fingers found their way around his leg and curled around the bandages. His shoulder were shaking violently. Something in his leg felt wrong.

"Dammit Luffy…" Zoro cursed under his breath as he slowly sat the boy on the ground.

"Something feels…weird."

"You probably just snapped the bone. It's your own fault; I told you not to walk," he said sternly, "Chopper's gonna kick yer ass."

"Yeah well, yours too!" he yelled back, sticking his tongue out.

"Whatever, come on. I'll carry you back."

"No. I don't need it. I'll get back myself!"

"So what? You just want me to leave you here?"

"You'd probably just get us lost anyway!" Luffy crossed his arms in defiance.

"Tch. Fine. Good luck getting your stubborn ass back to the ship without legs!" He yelled, turning on his heels and walking off. Obviously he wasn't needed. Luffy was too stubborn. After a bit of walking his pace slowed. He looked around at his surroundings, annoyed. The men from before laid scattered across the floor, still unconscious.

"Haven't I been here before?"

_Shit. I was so annoyed with Luffy, I walked the wrong way._

He turned toward the exit and walked out the door again.

Rain hit his face at an angle like little pebbles.

_Shit. _

He bolted down the road.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. _

"Dammit Luffy," he skidded to a halt, "I know that this is where I left you."

The rain and dark sky made it hard to decipher where he was and what was near him. He continued down the road in a mad dash, his eyes searching blindly for any sign. His hopes were answered when his foot suddenly caught on something and sent him tumbling to the ground, rolling a few feet before stopping.

"Luffy!" he yelled, partially in relief and partially in worry. He scrambled over to him and shook him by the shoulders.

"Mmm, Zoro?…what the hell?..." his eyes remained closed.

"You idiot…" _It's not like I was actually going to ditch you…_Zoro shook his head again and lifted the boy onto his back. Bridal style would just be even more detrimental to his pride. Once he was certain he would not slip, he began toward the ship.

"Zoro…?"

"Yeah…it's me."

"…'thought you left…" he mumbled.

"Yeah, well, I needed something to keep my back dry."

Luffy laughed lightly but then stopped when he made the connection, "…don't wanna be carried…" he weakly tried to escape.

"I'm not carrying you. You're just laying on my back while I'm walking."

He stopped struggling, "Oh," he laughed.

He understood why he didn't want to be carried. Luffy despised showing weakness to anyone, especially his friends. Because as captain, he had to be the strongest in order to protect them. He always had to be that one strong point, even if the rest of them were falling apart. Zoro felt the same way, but now he just wished Luffy would allow himself to lean on others every once in a while, but it turns out they were both just too stubborn for that.

"Sorry I yelled at you…"

"…Yeah, I am too. I shouldn't have left you."

"Did you go the wrong way?"

"Tch! No!"

Luffy laughed causing Zoro to sigh and shake his head. _Idiot._ A smiled crept at his lips.

He was glad they weren't too stubborn for that.

**I've been really stressed out lately with school, work and all my other duties, so I haven't gotten the chance to sit down and do what I enjoy. That and my grades in some of my classes have dropped because of stress and sleep deprivation. Fortunately, I'm on break right now and have a chance to rest. I'll try to get some chapters completed of my other stories soon. I'm also going to add on/redo parts of this one. Right now it's a shitty ending but oh well.**

** Thanks for reading!**


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